Best AI tools For Students, I remember working on the notes in my sophomore year at college, the coffee spots, the tabs in the browser tab so miniscule that you could not bear to look at the icons, and that sinking feeling of having a bibliography with no proper formatting. Innovative tools were at that time viewed as having spellchecker that was ignorant of them and there being two separate words.
The image has now changed entirely. I have done other guinea-pigging over the last few years, hacking and using artificial intelligence in my own work process. I also have observed it change the game of the students under my mentorship. The story line is inclined to switch between AI as magic wand and AI as a cheat. As it is typical, there is a middle ground between extremes:
AI is a potent tool. And the drill will not assist you when you are not aware how to make the house. Certainly, you will spend much less time on manual work. This isn’t a list of hype. It is the most efficient AI tool among the students who have already been tested, failed and must perform their duties on time.
The Second Brain to Research: Perplexity and Consensus.
I remember working on the notes in my sophomore year at college, the coffee spots, the tabs in the browser tab so miniscule that you could not bear to look at the icons, and that sinking feeling of having a bibliography with no proper formatting. The innovative tools were deemed at the time as a spellchecker that did not realize that their and there were two distinct words.
Perplexity AI
The situation is a total contrast nowadays. Experimentation, hacking and utilizing artificial intelligence within my own process have also been some of the past several years that I have experimented with. I have also seen it change the game of the student whom I mentor. The storyline itself has a tendency to switch between AI both as a magic wand and AI as a cheat. As it is always the case the truth is somewhere in the middle: AI is a potent tool. And when you do not know how to make the house, the drill will not be of any help to you. So you will save a lot of time on manual working.
Real-life application: I apply this in the first discovery stage of an essay. It helps me locate sources, understand the general arguments, and correct dates. It is fantastic to search for that one article that you vaguely recall reading but cannot locate in your history.
Consensus
Whereas Perplexity searches the web, Consensus searches science. It is, in effect, an academic paper search engine. When you ask whether sleep deprivation is related to long-term memory. It directly links to peer-reviewed articles and generalizes the scientific community’s findings (hence the name).
Why it is important: It will prevent cherry-picking of data. It determines whether a subject is disputed. To write a thesis, there is no compromise.
The Writing Generators (Those That are not Generative)
A tremendous distinction exists between asking an AI to write your paper (not a good idea, unethical, as it will usually be discovered) and asking an AI to assist you in speaking more effectively.
The Modern Version of Grammarly.
Grammarly is something you are likely aware of, but these new AI advances have rendered it indispensable. The catching of commas has become a thing of the past: it is a check of tone. When I feel tired, I tend to write in a roundabout manner. The Grammarly feature that rewrites to make it more straightforward is like having a harsh editor standing over my shoulder, reminding me to get to the point.
QuillBot
This is a controversial one, yet I would like to mention it because it can be helpful when used responsibly. Quill Bot is a paraphrasing application.
- The misuse of the term: Duplicating Wikipedia and rearranging the writings to conceal plagiarism.
- The correct way to do it: You have written a sentence that is clumsy and awkward. You know what you want to say, but you can not get the words flowing. QuillBot will also offer alternative formulations to help you express yourself more clearly.
To the STEM Crowd: More than the Calculator.
Text generators are useless in the case you are in engineering or math. You need logic engines.
Wolfram Alpha
This has been in existence since the beginning of time, and even in the recent incorporations of AI, it is the pioneer of computational knowledge. It does not merely give you the solution to a problem of calculus but a step by step analysis.
Experience of mine: I used it to test-check statistical model. It is not about getting the response; it is about cognizing the procedure, which can be replicated on the test under the absence of the AI.
Scispace (formerly Typset.io)
Complex scientific PDFs are not easy to read. Scispace will also allow posting a PDF, and highlighting confusing text. The document can literally be asked to breakdown this formula in simple terms and breaks it down. It is almost like having a tutor next to you to decipher the jargon.
Productivity and taking notes.
The student is the greatest enemy of disorganization and not the difficulty of the material.
Otter.ai
Otter.ai can save your life in case you are permitted to record your professor (you should do that always). It captures lectures as they are given. The best feature though is the AI summary. I have interviewed for this. I do not jump about to note down quotes and fail to get the context, but I listen. I would like to ask Otter to remove key messages and items to be done in the future.
Notion AI
Notion is already taken as the de facto of student organizations. The AI layer will allow you to generalize your notes (which are disorganized). My brain dumping process often consists of stream of consciousness and pasting it into a page, followed with a request to Notion AI which in turn converts into a to-do list or summarizes the most relevant themes. It turns chaos at once into order.
A Warning against the Ethical Trap: Experience to the contrary.
The risks cannot be left out when writing this article. I even had the opportunity to chat with professors that are already drafting assignments with the purpose of allowing users to wrongly apply AI. They desire the uniformity of the language, the lack of specific reference points, and the average logic.
About the maintenance of Academic Integrity:
- The 80/20 Rule: You need to do 80 percent of the work- the thinking, the structuring, the analysis, etc. The remaining 20 percent (formatting, spell-checking, source searching) ought to be done with aid of AI.
- Always Check: You must always be suspicious of any citation that you may find in a chat bot and never make assumptions before clicking on the citation link.
- Disclosure: Surely, in arriving to brainstorm or outline with the aid of AI, some of the forward-thinking professors actually appreciate seeing in the footnote that they were actually helped in doing so with the help of AI. It shows honesty and process.
The Verdict
The perfect AI assistant to learners cannot be single software, but a process. My list would be the following: Otter.ai to record the lecture, Perplexity to find the reading list, Scispace to read the thick PDFs, a notebook to make my ideas clearer, and gram marley to read the final version one more time in case I start my semester at this very moment.
These tools will not transform you into a better person within a day. They clear the path of the mess to enable you acquire the psychological space to learn. That is what technology is all about, not thinking on your behalf, but releasing you to think more broadly.
Frequently Asked (FAQ) questions.
Q: Could the use of these tools result in my being caught to plagiarism?
A: You copy-paste something a generator has created and immediately after that, you put it in an essay, then, yes, the detectors like Turnitin may identify you. However, grammar-checking, brainstorming or source-finding appliances (like Perplexity) are also acceptable support, similar to a tutor. Always ask the policy of your university.
ChatGPT or Claude: works better with students?
A: Claude (Claude 3 specifically) tends to work more effectively with large amounts of text, and, thus, summarize the text or PDFs that are long. ChatGPT (especially the paid version) may come in handy to general brainstorming and logical thinking.
Q: Are these tools free?
A: Most have a “freemium” model. Grammarly, Perplexity, and Notion have free versions, which are enough when it comes to simple work. Specialized sites like Scispace, or they may be purchased; but they are frequently accompanied by a subscription fee; and most are subject to student discounts.
Q: Can AI do my math homework?
A: Photomath and Wolfram Alpha tools are capable of resolving the problems, but using them deprives you of learning the methodology. Your work should be checked with them, or include explanations of any steps you are unsure about, so you do not produce answers in your head.
Q: How do I cite AI use?
A: already, MLA, APA, and Chicago styles have issued its guidelines regarding a reference to generative AI. Generally, mention the prompt you have used and the AI model. However, make certain with your instructor; people just want the bare minimum in the form of a statement of recognition at the end of the paper.